After three years in the wilderness, Douglas Hall is back - and shooting
from the hip like never before.

He is speaking of superstar signings a la Rivaldo. He is making boasts
baiting Sunderland, Manchester United and even Barcelona.

And, perhaps most surprisingly of all, he is talking about the development
of an even larger St James's Park.

The son of former supremo Sir John and owner of 47.2 per cent of the club,
Douglas remains United's deputy chairman but has been rarely seen and never
heard since the Toongate scandal, which erupted in March 1998.

But he has emerged to delivered a grand vision of the Magpies' future which
even his gregarious father would have struggled to match.

Chief among them that Newcastle are bigger than Barcelona and have more
money to invest in the new transfer market than Manchester United.

That will be news to supporters who have seen the Magpies' tread water in
the Premiership for three years and manager Bobby Robson starved of funds
this season.

But Hall maintains that Newcastle's recent prudence has left them with the
means to strike - and strike big - when the future of the transfer system is
finally decided.

"Newcastle United can compete with anybody in the transfer
market," he says. "Because of the way the board have run
the club over the past three years we have managed to get ourselves into a
position financially where we believe we can compete with anybody. "I
still believe Newcastle can still attract players of the highest calibre
from anywhere in the world to come and play for us. "That is the
ambition of the chairman, the board and myself, as the largest
shareholder."

And the possible identity of those high calibre players?

"Rivaldo was my dream," Hall insists. "I've always
believed Newcastle should attract players of the quality of Rivaldo.
"We can guarantee Newcastle United fans that we will attract the best
to Newcastle. "We'll not let the fans down. We'll invest heavily in the
future of the club to provide them with a team to be proud of."

Despite the club's mediocre league form? Hall obviously believes so.

"Sunderland have tried to get Jan Koller, supposedly. They couldn't
attract him. Would Newcastle, if they wanted Koller, have any problem
attracting him? No. "Newcastle United can attract any player from
anywhere in the world."

Hall added: "In my opinion we're already bigger and more financially
stable than the likes of Barcelona. "We mightn't be as successful on
the pitch. But in that we don't have to have the Government helping us out
with our debts like the Spanish clubs do, and that we've got a ground we are
paying for correctly and in a sensible, prudent way, Newcastle United are
bigger. "We're financially secure at the moment. There is no debt at
this club that isn't manageable. The debt for the stadium is long-term and
well financed. For the first time in a lot of years there's cash in the
bank."

And more than enough for Hall to make another bold statement.

"At the moment, at this precise second, our turnover is not as large
as Manchester United's," he admits. "But we have possibly a
larger stockpile of cash than Manchester United have because we haven't gone
crazy over the last 12 months with regard to transfer fees. "Certain
additions to the squad at very high wages if the transfer system disappears
might be possible. "If the transfer system stays, we can compete, for
example, for the likes of Rio Ferdinand. "But until we know whether the
transfer system stays, goes, disappears or whatever, we're not going to be
imprudent. "What we consider at the moment is that this club is the
most financially sound it's ever been, with the best base to go forward from
in the future. "Hopefully Bobby Robson can develop success on the park
with some prudent purchases, be it spending transfer money or wages. But
they won't be small - they'll be large."

And are Newcastle aiming to overhaul Manchester United's success on the
field? "We always were," said Hall.

"We had one unlucky season where we blew a 12-point lead. "If we'd
won the league that year, Newcastle United would be totally different to
what it is now."

It would certainly boast a better share price, which currently stands at
a quarter of its launch value.

But Hall snarls: "The City underestimate the value of Newcastle
United. There's nothing I can do about that. "It doesn't matter what
story we tell them, they don't understand the potential, the value and the
cashflow of this club. We've given up trying to tell them."

Perhaps they would take notice if Newcastle's revenue streams were to be
boosted by a further increase in the capacity of St James's Park. Further
expansion of United's newly extended 109-year-old ground had previously been
thought impossible. But Hall demanded:

"Who's to say that the ground development stops where we are? We
don't know. "Because of the planning restrictions and the rest of it
we'd have to negotiate very closely with the local council. "But I
would hope, given a fair wind and given the fact that we are successful on
the park and given the fact that we are financially successful, we can
invest in increasing the size of the capacity."

"There's no limit to how many Newcastle United fans will turn up at
this ground if we're successful."

There seems no limit to Douglas Hall's optimism either.

I Will Never Sell My Shares

In the cut-throat world of modern football, the Hall family's reign at
Newcastle has been one of the game's most dynamic dynasties.

And it is one that Douglas Hall insists will live on at St. James' Park long
beyond his lifetime.

Although the man who presided over the Magpies' near-glorious recent past -
Sir John Hall - is gone, his son insists the family name will continue to be
writ large in United's future.

"Long may it continue" says Douglas. "The best
thing I can do is pass the shares on to my children."

That directly contradicts recent claims that he was about to sell the 47.2%
stake in the club he owns through Cameron Hall and an offshore trust.

But Hall insists it makes good business sense in anticipation of Newcastle
reasserting themselves as major force. He adds, "Martin Edwards may
have sold Manchester United for £12m a few years ago and look what he's got
now." "I'd be crazy, absolutely crazy to get rid of my
shareholding now."

And Hall maintains he never intended selling in the aftermath of the scandal
which has seen him take a vow of silence for the last three years.

"I've hidden in the background. I've stayed away. I gotm ore than I
could stand from the News of the World and it's taken me a while to come
back" he says. "But it was not in my character to sell up. I never
give up."